Hi, guys! So, obviously, I finally uploaded my new story. Yay! I decided to upload it this week because I got Really Important Test Scores back this week, and they were better than I expected, which sort of inspired me a little. :P

I've been working on this for a while, and I'm kind of nervous to post a new story (it's been a whole year since I've done that!), so I hope you like it. Special thanks to Katwood5 for proof reading/beta'ing. :) I'll try to update this once a week/once every two weeks, depending on how hectic things get. (But, hopefully, it'll be every Friday. Fingers crossed.)

In case you read my old story (Oath) and are now here: hi! Hello! So nice to have you back. This is a very different (happier!) story, so I hope you enjoy the change.

To all of the new readers: bonjour! I hope you enjoy the story, too, and thank you (times a million) for reading.

She didn't think about it much.

When Jon brought his new friend home, Clary didn't give it a thought. Her brother was friendly, and so he was bound to make more than one new friend a week. It was just the way he was, and there was no way around it. Being his opposite, Clary learned to stay in the shadows, in her room, as far away from the actual socializing as possible.

The two boys burst into the house, being carelessly loud, as boys tend to be after soccer practice at four in the afternoon. She heard their laughter all the way up to her room, and, being in no mood for it, she got up and started toward the door.

By the time she was downstairs, she took a good look at the two boys. They both had messed-up hair, though her brother's white-blond hair was not the same kind of hair the other boy had, because the boy was golden. His hair was the color of her mother's wedding ring, and his eyes a duller gold, like the world could not stand him being so glorious and had to tone it down.

They both had the same kind of hair, though: shaggy, and full of sweat after a long practice. They were both soaked in their sweat, which Clary found herself wrinkling her nose at.

"Hey, sister," Jon said, snapping her out of it. "What's up?"

"Why are you always so damn loud?" she asked him, making her way into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "Some of us are actually trying to pass school."

"Ew," her brother replied, though he was only teasing. "Where's Mom?"

"The gallery with Luke," she replied absently, eyeing her brother's friend. "Who's this?" She nodded toward him.

"Oh. Clary," he said, pretending to be all formal when he clearly was not, "this is Jace. Jace, Clary. He's cool. New to town," he added, as if that would explain his lack of presence in the house for the past couple of years.

She gave him a half-hearted wave, mumbled a quick hello, and turned to Jon. "Simon's coming over in , like, five." She rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look, Jon, he's been around since before you could do basic math."

"I still can't do basic math." Jon grinned. "Aw, you know I like Simon."

"More like you like to tease him mercilessly. It wouldn't kill you to be nice," she muttered, trying to find something to eat that wasn't an apple. "Can we order pizza?"

"I am nice," he argued. "And I have a twenty, so yeah."

The doorbell rang just then, and Clary glared at her brother. "One rude word , and I'll hit you where the sun doesn't shine."

"I'm terrified," he said dryly.

Simon was wearing a surprisingly plain t-shirt and jeans, along with his beat-up pair of converse. "Tell me you guys have food."

"Hi to you too, Si." Clary stepped out of his way and closed the door. "We're about to order pizza."

"I love you."

"Whoa, there, Simon," Jon piped up. "I'm the one with the money."

"I love you more, Jon."

"You guys are gross," Clary said, but she was smiling.

Simon's eyes landed on Jace, and Clary could have sworn they narrowed. "Uh, who's this?"

"Simon, this is Jace," she sighed. "He's new, and one of Jon's many friends."

Simon gave Jace a nod, who nodded back. Clary snorted, but said nothing.

"Yo," Jon said. "Do you guys want pepperoni or cheese?"

"Pepperoni," Clary replied.

"Cheese," Simon said.

"I'll have whatever," Jace added, and it struck Clary how not very interesting he seemed to be, but how much attention he drew from the room when he spoke.

"Half and half it is," Jon said, phone in hand.

While her brother ordered, Clary turned to Jace. It killed her to do so, but she had to be polite. And also social. She hated both, but her mother said she had to show some sort of social skills if she wanted to get anywhere in life, and she thought there was no one better to practice her nonexistent small talk skills with than one of her brother's friends.

"So, Jace," she said, kind of drawing out his name, "where are you from?"

"Florida."

"Really." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "Florida's nice."

"Florida's crap." He snorted, and she decided that she liked him, because he was right: Florida was crap . "You and Jon," he noted, "don't look very much alike."

"He gets his looks from our dad," Clary replied, nodding toward him. "I get mine from my mom. The only thing I get from my dad is his last name, and that's only when I can't help it."

He gave her a funny look. "You're very particular ."

"Their dad was a dick," Simon said, rolling his eyes. "There's nothing particular about that."

"Simon," she warned.

"Sorry."

"Pizza's been ordered," said Jon. "Now, ladies—"

"Thanks," Simon replied, all sarcasm.

"—if you'll excuse us," he paused, wearing a wicked grin, "we're gonna go hang out. Do the manly stuff."

"You sound incredibly manly right now, Jon." Clary patted his shoulder. "You go do that."

"Why don't you call Izzy? She can help Simon become more of a man," Jon said to her, eyes shining with amusement.

"Because Isabelle," Simon said with a sigh, "had a little too much fun last night and is now in bed with a massive hangover."

"Your girlfriend likes to party, I'll give her that."

Simon turns an impossible shade of red. "She's not my girlfriend."

Clary had to snort. "Okaaaay, Simon."

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'll call her."

Jace was looking at them in amusement, or so Clary saw from the corner of her eye. She wondered why he didn't say anything. She was shy, sure, but she always had something to say when someone had enough personality in them to get it out of her. He, however, did not seem shy, but he also did not seem to share much. It both puzzled and fascinated her.

"She's coming over," Simon announced. "If she can get passed her mom, that is."

"She can get past anyone," Jon said, waving a hand dismissively. "Izzy's, like, part cat or something. She's the most impressive girl I've ever met."

"You only say that because she broke a guy's nose with her stilettos once."

"That's pretty impressive," Jace noted, and Jon nodded appreciatively.

Clary rolled her eyes. "For the last time, it's not that hard if you put some force into it."

"Then why haven't you broke a guy's nose wearing high heels?"

"Because, Jonathan, I'm too busy not breaking my back to wear high heels."

"You two," Simon noted, "are particularly chatty today."
Clary shrugged. "They were being loud."

"Oh, please. You were probably stalking Sebastian Verlac and mooning over him." Jon rolled his eyes, and Clary's glare cut right through it .

"I do not moon over—"

"Yeah, you do," Simon said. "But we love you anyway."

"Who's Sebastian Verlac?" Jace spoke, and everyone suddenly remembered he was there.

"Sebastian Verlac," Jon said dramatically, "is an asshole."

"The biggest out of all the assholes," Simon added.

Clary rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's not that bad—"

"Clary, you only think that because I've kept all the nasty shit he's done from you," Jon said gently. "But, I mean, I've met assholes before. This guy makes them look like the nicest guys in the universe."

"It's not like I'm gonna date him," Clary mumbled. "I mean, he's just hot. Can't I appreciate that?"

"As long as it's just that," her brother said firmly, and she rolled her eyes at him yet again. She was going to get a headache.

The doorbell rang for the second time that evening. Without noticing, they had all moved to the living room and were sitting on the couch . Clary got up , glaring at the boys as she made her way to the door. Thankfully, her best friend, Isabelle Lightwood, stood in front of her.

"Clary," Isabelle said. "I have to tell you so much—"

"Later," she replied quickly. "Just come into the living room for a sec."

"This feels like a prank." Isabelle didn't move.

"Izzy, it's not a prank."
"Then hear me out."

"I will. Later."

"Fine. But if this is a prank—"

"It's not a prank."

"—I will kill you."

"Okay," Clary said. "Now come on."

What Clary had refused to think came rushing back to her, and it was a simple truth that she could not deny: Jace was gorgeous. She did not know his last name, or what his favorite song was, or his birthday, or his age, but she knew that he was the kind of gorgeous that girls would die for, the kind that girls pretended not to stare at but noticed even after it was gone.

Isabelle clearly noticed. Her posture changed; she stood up straighter , smiled a little more. "Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"Izzy, Jace." Clary jerked her head toward the golden boy. "Jace, my best friend, Izzy."

"Clary," her best friend said, "I didn't know you'd gotten yourself a boyfriend."

"Yeah, okay." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "He's one of Jon's soccer friends, and he's new to town."

"Ah, but there's more to me than that," Jace replied with a devilish smile. It was the kind of smile that made her want to smile back.

"Nice to meet you." Isabelle Lightwood, ever so charming, stuck her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Isabelle. Call me Izzy."

"Jace."

"So I hear." She took a seat beside Simon, her almost-boyfriend. "Hey."

Simon was clearly annoyed. "Hi."
"Oh, boy," Clary muttered.

"So," Jon said, "we're gonna go outside. We'll let you know when the pizza's here."

Isabelle brightened up. "Pizza?"

"Should've ordered a bigger one," Clary's brother muttered while nodding.

"Cool."

The two boys left, which meant that only Simon, Clary, and Isabelle were inside. But there were clearly unresolved issues between Simon and Izzy, so Clary stood up abruptly , blurting something out about having to talk to her brother before leaving the room.

Outside, the air was chilly. It was October in the city, which meant that jackets were now in order. She shivered slightly before looking around, spotting her brother and his new friend in the process. She marched up to them.

Her relationship with Jon had never been a very complicated one. It had been very easy, really, to say that she liked her brother. They did not spend much time together, but the time they did share was spent having fun, which meant that she didn't mind socializing with him. Everyone recognized her as Jon's little sister, because Jon was popular, and she was not. Not on her own, anyway.

"Hey," she said to the boys. "They, uh, needed to work some things out."

"That might have something to do with her flirting with Jace," Jon said, his eyebrows raised. "You need to talk to her or something."

"Izzy's just like that." Shivering, she glanced back at the house. "She doesn't mean to be."

"I know." Jon gave her a smile. "So, what's going on with you, anyway?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Not much. There's never much going on with me."

It was the truth. Her life, in a word, was ordinary. Painfully so. She followed her every day routine, which meant that every day was as boring as the last, and she had no say in it.

"Oh, but Clary, you are so very interesting." He smirked, and she knew he was teasing. "How's the art?"

"Art-y," she replied. "Listen, I don't know, Jon. How's the soccer?" She was mocking him, and he knew it.

"Just dandy. Met a new friend, in case you couldn't tell."

"Well," Clary assessed Jace, "he's awfully quiet, so I didn't really notice."

"Quiet!" Jon laughed, doubling over. "That's new."

"Most people would describe me as 'strikingly handsome' or 'very, very doable.' I could settle for quiet, I guess." Jace shrugged. "It's just not really very me. I feel like a mislabeled product in a grocery store."

"You are so full of shit," Jon said between laughter. "Oh, not you, Clary."

"I noticed you were talking about your suddenly very alive friend." Clary was amused as she glanced at the two of them: her slightly delirious brother and the amusing golden-haired boy standing beside him. "How's Kaelie?"

She knew she struck a nerve when his face turned the kind of serious that wasn't really serious, but more annoyed. Jon rolled his eyes at the mention of the annoying cheerleader that basically stalked him every day and night. "She's Kaelie," he said, grimacing. "She tried to, uh, seduce me earlier today, and I threw up a little in my mouth."

Clary smirked. "She came up to me today."

"Really?"

She nodded. "She was all like, 'Oh, could you please tell your brother that he left his shirt in my room? Oh, and could you also tell him that I've been eagerly awaiting his call?' She said it all professional ly and cool ly , but I could tell she was secretly dying."

"Oh god," Jon said, groaning. "She is a nightmare."
"Of course she's a nightmare," Clary replied. "But she's only a nightmare because you slept with her."

"Which I don't get," Jace said. "I mean, I've met her, and she's like a walking, talking sign against sex with her."

Clary snorted. "Amen."

"She was hot, and she was there, and I was bored." Jon shrugged. "You know I don't believe in that whole 'having sex with someone you care about' crap, not always. And it was right after my breakup with Aline, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, blame your broken heart for sleeping with a teenage psycho."

"Are your friends done?" Jon gave Clary a playful glare.

"I don't know, and…I kind of don't want to find out." She could walk in to find two very different things. Both scenarios did not suit well with her.

"Well, what do you wanna do?" Her brother was getting annoyed, the way he did when she hung around for too long when his friends were over—which never happened, but she dimly recalled the way he acted that way when they were kids.

She shrugged. "You tell me."

"Well," Jon said, "let's talk to Jace."

The two siblings turned to face the guy with the golden locks, who was staring at them with an amused expression. "What about me?"

"Well," her brother replied, "tell us about yourself."

"Oh, boy."

By the time ten minutes had passed, they knew more about Jace than they had expected to. They knew that his last name was Wayland, and his dad was from England, but he died when he was a kid , and they knew that he liked to play the piano and the guitar, and that he used to play football, and that he liked to travel, and that he was a very skilled liar. They knew that he was social, too, but that his game was off today. They found out that his favorite color was the blue of the ocean, which Clary pointed out was not really blue, and then Jace replied that it was obviously blue, and this caused them to fight for a good three minutes before Jon rolled his eyes and said that they were both stupid.

They found out that he had no middle name, and that his hair was naturally blond. They discovered that he was single, not looking for a girlfriend, that Kaelie scared him, and that he was not really interested in anyone from their school at the moment. He was an only child, and his mom was single . She was a lawyer. They found out that his favorite ice cream flavor was chocolate, that he didn't like red velvet cakes or cupcakes, and that he loved to watch movies.

And, in those ten to fifteen minutes, Clary decided that Jace Wayland was fascinating.

When the pizza arrived, Jon stood up, saying he would go get it and pay for it, and they could eat outside. But it was getting dark, so Clary shook her head and told him that they should go inside, and so they did.

Isabelle and Simon were just talking on the couch when the three of them came in. They were holding hands, which Clary took as a good sign, and nearly jumped with excitement as Jon came in with the pizza.

The house phone started ringing before Clary could take a bite out of her pizza . She let out a sigh and walked toward it. "Hello?"

"Clary?" It was her mother. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You weren't answering your phone."

"It's in my room, and I'm downstairs. Lots of people here today."

"Really? Who?"

"Izzy, Simon, Jon, and a friend of his called Jace."

"Well," her mom said, "we'll be home soon, okay? I was just checking up on you."

"I'm not five."

"I know," Jocelyn said. "I just worry."

"I'm painfully aware of that."

"Love you."

"You too," Clary replied, and hung up. She faced her brother, who was looking at her with an eyebrow raised in question. "Mom and Luke will be home soon."

"Seriously, she needs to get a hobby."

"She has a hobby."

"She needs to get a new one."

"Amen."

They started eating . Clary thought, in that moment, that she had never tasted anything as delicious as that pizza in her entire sixteen years of life. True, she had tasted many that came close, including her mom's homemade pizza, but she was starving, and this pizza filled her right up.

There was silence while they ate. Everyone had been starving, so no one minded—or seemed to notice—the silence, which was just as well. They ate and sighed and nodded at the deliciousness.

And then Jocelyn and Luke came in, their eyes narrowed at the smell of pizza. Well, Jocelyn's . Luke brightened up, took a slice without saying hello, and bit in . "This is so good."

"Luke," Jocelyn warned, and he held a hand up in surrender, the other one still holding his pizza.

"We were hungry," Clary explained, "and there was no food."

"What money did you use to buy this?"

"Jon's."
Jocelyn looked at her son. "I'm not paying it back to you."

"I figured."

"Is it any good?"

"Really good."

With a sigh, Jocelyn took a slice of pizza and bit in. She nodded in agreement, and they all sat together, eating the pizza that had been ordered earlier in the afternoon. It felt weird, especially when Jace was basically a stranger to them . After getting to know so many quick facts about him, Clary felt like she knew him: she felt like she knew how much he loved everything he told her he did. She felt his love shine through his words, and she loved it all too much.

She was greedy for more.

"I'll be right back," she said to everyone. No one seemed to care that she was gone. She made her way upstairs, took a deep breath, and grabbed her phone from the table.

She didn't know what it was that made her pick it up, but she was glad she did.

Because Sebastian Verlac called her.

It was five minutes before, but it was enough to make her heart race, to make her think that if she'd just gotten there a couple of minutes earlier, she could have been having a whole conversation with the hottest guy in school right now. With a sigh, she decided on calling him back.

And he picked up.

"Clary?" he answered, sounding groggy. "Hey."

"You called?" She tried to sound bored.

"Yeah." He sounded so damn sexy over the phone, something she tried hard to ignore. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out sometime."

She tried to keep from squealing. "Really?" Her voice came out squeaky and wrong.

"Yeah. Would you be up for it?"

"Um, I don't know. When?"

"Saturday? Six o'clock?" He sounded hopeful.

"I'll think about it and text you, okay?" She wanted to die. He was asking! her! out!

"Sure," he said, and she could picture him grinning and flashing his dimples, and she wanted to die. "See you tomorrow, Clary."

"See you," she said, all but sighing, and hung up the phone.

She walked back downstairs, half-dreaming. Everyone noticed that she was over the moon about something, so they all asked.

"I—nothing." She was sly about it, though, which gave away that what she actually meant was everything.

"Spill it," Izzy said. "God knows I'm your best friend, Clary Fray, and there's something you're hiding."

Her mom was gone now, and so was Luke. She broke into a grin. "Sebastian Verlac asked me out."

Isabelle's eyes were as wide as the ocean. "No. Way."

"Yep!" She nodded so many times she thought her head would snap in half. "I can't believe this is happening. I mean, wow. I never thought I'd get asked out by Sebastian Verlac."

"I thought you weren't interested in dating him," Jon pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"That's before I thought he would actually date me," she replied, giddy. "Besides, I haven't said yes."

"Good." It came from Isabelle, much to Clary's surprise. "I know you're thinking that he's the hottest thing ever. While he is attractive, he's a bad kisser and his breath isn't the best-smelling thing and he does not know how to keep his hands off you and his grip is too firm and I just really don't think you would like him, Clary."

She let out a sigh. "You couldn't let me be excited for once," she grumbled, but she trusted her best friend. Isabelle Lightwood, if anything, was experienced.

"I'm glad you're not going out with him," Jon said between bites of pizza. "Like I said, he's a pig. There are better guys out there."

"Because guys are just lining up to go out with me," Clary said, half-joking, though it did sting. The truth is, she had never gone out on a date. Not even one. She hadn't even had her first kiss, and she was sixteen, and she felt like a failure of a teenager, especially when her best friend was one of the most experienced girls at their school.

"Clary—"

"Jon," she said sternly. "Don't. I'm not making a huge deal out of it, but it's the truth. Guys don't find me attractive." She shrugged. "I can deal with it. It just sucks that the one guy I find really, really attractive is the biggest asshole in the planet."

"I know," Isabelle said, answering for her brother, because boys could be idiots, and she knew that more than anyone else. "But there'll be another sexy one. I swear."

Clary just smiled, because she didn't know what to say. She appreciated her best friend's efforts to make her feel better, but she also knew that they'd done no good. When she fell into one of these moods—the ones in which she felt like she was never going to be good enough for anybody—only time could pull her out. She sighed, excused herself from the table, and went back upstairs. She sent Sebastian a text, saying she wouldn't be able to go to their date.

She wouldn't have sent him that text if she didn't at least partially agree with her brother and friends. She knew, deep in her heart, that Sebastian Verlac would break her heart if she let him. And she knew that saying yes to a date with him would qualify as "letting him," so she had to say no. But still. It hurt all the same.
There was a knock on her door, and Simon opened it without being let in formally. "Hey," he said, sitting beside her on the bed. "You doing okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She played with a loose thread that hung from her shirt. "I'm fine."

"It's okay if you're not fine," he said, giving her a small smile. "I know it's been tough for you to pine over someone like Sebastian—a dick who would never be good enough for you anyway. But Izzy was right when she said there would be another guy."

"I'm not doubting her, and I'm not upset about that." But she was. She just wanted everyone to let her be upset, because it was not the worst thing she could be. "I promise."

"Okay." He stood up. "We're gonna watch a movie, so join us if you wanna."

Clary nodded. "Just give me a second."

She watched as her best friend made his way out of her room, gently shutting the door behind him. Her head was pounding, which she found weird, because she ate, and she didn't get headaches that often. Maybe it was just her mood, she thought with a sigh, and stood up, grabbing her phone before making her way down the stairs and into the living room.

The next empty space was next to Jace, so she plopped down beside him, giving him a sort-of smile before facing her brother. "What are we watching?"

" Scream ." He smiled. "Your favorite."

She grimaced. "I wouldn't call it my favorite."

"You love this movie."

"I love a lot of things, Jon, but that doesn't mean they're good for me."

Clary saw Jace smile at that from the corner of her eye, but decided not to mention it.

"We're watching it, though, right?"

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand dismissively and toyed around with her phone, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, she was very aware of the fact that Jace was not unattractive, and he was sitting right beside her. She didn't want to start thinking of him that way, but she was, just like that. She had a feeling that the idea had been there all along, ever since he said the first thing about himself when they began socializing earlier. She just had that feeling, when he said that he hated Florida, that he was going to be the kind of different that took her breath away.

And now he was going to do just that, but not because of anything other than his attractiveness. She could not deny that he was handsome: his hair was better than she could ever dream hers would be, and his eyes made a hole in her heart, and his smile could heal the most broken of hearts.

"Who's making popcorn?" Simon asked. "'Cause there needs to be popcorn."

Isabelle nodded. "I second that."

Clary let out a sigh and pushed herself up. "I'll go."

"I'll help," Jace offered, and she wasn't about to refuse that, though she couldn't begin to understand why he would volunteer to help her in the first place other than to seem charitable—and, well, Jace Wayland did not seem like the kind of boy who cared about being charitable.

It was a good thing he came, though, because the popcorn was in a cabinet that Clary could not reach. She always hated her height, but she hated it more when it embarrassed her in front of people. Blushing, she asked Jace, "Could you get that for me?" which he did, and with a smile, too.

They made the popcorn quietly. At some point, Clary had to start looking around for bowls, and he knew exactly what she was looking for, because he started to help. Her mom had rearranged the whole kitchen the past week because she'd gotten bored, and Clary didn't know where things were, not until she stumbled upon them.

"Found the bowls," Jace announced, setting three aside. "These good?"

"Perfect." She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. The first bag was done, and she started on the second one. "Thanks."
"No problem." He emptied the contents of the first bag into a bowl and shook it, giving her a smile as he did so. "So, Clary Fray, why are you so upset about Sebastian Verlac?"

"I'm not," she replied, slightly annoyed at his inferring. He would not have been so far off from the truth, but she felt annoyed at the fact that he thought himself entitled enough to assume things by what they looked like, instead of by what they were. "I'm not," she repeated.

"Okay," he said to her. "But you seem upset."

"I am, but not over that." She took the third bag out of the plastic package and waited for the microwave's alarm to go off. "I'm upset over a lot of things, like lack of sleep and too much homework and really bitchy girls and the fact that inspiration doesn't strike me easily, but I'm not upset over the fact that Sebastian Verlac is an asshole."

"I didn't think you'd be upset over him being an asshole," he explained, "but over him asking you out and you having to say no."

"Aren't they related?" she asked absently, taking out the second popcorn bag and thrusting the third one in without a second thought.

"Yeah, but they're not the same." He watched her dump the popcorn into a green bowl. "I thought you'd be upset over the fact that you couldn't have your date, not over the fact that it was with him."

She hated how right he was.

"Even if that's why I'm upset," she said slowly, "it'd be a reason out of a million. I really don't care."

"Then why don't I believe you?"

"Because you don't believe in anything."

He didn't have anything to say to that, and she nodded, satisfied. The third bag of popcorn was done, and she was, again, dumping its contents into a new bowl when she realized that Jace Wayland was infuriating.

They carried the bowls to everyone and distributed them evenly: there was a bowl for both Isabelle and Simon, another for Jon, and another one for the two of them to share. They hated the last part of the distribution, but there was nothing they could do. Clary wasn't that hungry, anyway.

It was uncomfortable to be sitting next to Jace after having that talk with him, to be scared of feeling his skin on hers while reaching for popcorn. To feel the presence of someone else where the absence of everything usually sat.

The movie, which usually cheered Clary back up because of its familiarity, was strange to her now. It was like nothing could bring her back to the way she would usually be. Her mood was a permanent shade of gray, and she hated everything because of it.

It was ten by the time the movie ended. Isabelle and Simon announced that they were staying over, as they usually did, and Jon awkwardly asked Jace if he wanted to spend the night so they could watch another movie without worrying about curfew. Jace went into the kitchen to call his mom while the group debated what the next movie would be.

Then, Clary said, "I really don't feel like watching another one."

"Why?" asked Izzy. "You love movies."

She did, but she shrugged. "I just don't feel like it. I have a headache, and I'm tired."

Her best friend shrugged. "Okay."

"We'll sleep on the couch," added Simon with a smile. "So we don't wake you up."

Clary nodded, grateful, and went up the stairs with a mumbled goodnight to them. She should have felt bad for ditching them, but she felt bad for many things already. She felt bad for thinking that Sebastian Verlac's proposal would mean anything other than the fact that he was a douchebag, or that Jace Wayland could be interesting without being an asshole, or that his friends would understand what she was going through. She felt like an idiot for it all, she decided while she locked her door and turned off the light.

Let me know what you think! xo